U.S. Coast Guard
COMDTINST M1020.8 — Body Composition & Physical Fitness
Data updated: 2026-08-19 (verified vs primary service regulations)
How the screen works
Accession screen uses BMI 19.0–27.5; the primary in-service screen is abdominal circumference (Men ≤ 39 in, Women ≤ 35.5 in). Body-fat % applies if needed. The Coast Guard is aligning toward the DoD WHtR < 0.55 screen.
| Initial screen | Threshold | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Waist-to-Height Ratio (WHtR) | must be < 0.55 | Below passes with no tape test; at or above → secondary body-fat evaluation |
| Abdominal circumference (primary) | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum at navel | ≤ 39 in | ≤ 35.5 in |
Maximum allowable body-fat % (age / sex)
| Age group | Men (max %) | Women (max %) |
|---|---|---|
| Under 30 | 22% | 32% |
| Under 40 | 24% | 34% |
| 40+ | 26% | 36% |
Reading the age-normed ladder
The table above is a ladder rather than a single number, and the width of that ladder is worth knowing before you compare yourself against a colleague. Across the 3 bands listed for Coast Guard, the men's ceiling spans 4 percentage points and the women's spans 4. That spread reflects how body composition shifts with age, and it is the reason a measured value can fail against one band and pass against another without the measurement itself changing at all.
The Waist-to-Height Ratio gate here sits exactly on the DoD baseline of 0.55, so this service applies the joint standard without tightening or relaxing it. A WHtR is waist divided by height, so the arithmetic has a concrete consequence: at 70 inches tall, the DoD baseline of 0.55 tolerates a waist of up to 38.5 inches while the gate applied here tolerates 38.5 inches.
DoD Instruction 1308.03 also sets an outer corridor: no branch may be stricter than 18% (men) / 26% (women), and none may be looser than 26% (men) / 36% (women). For Coast Guard the tightest men's band is 22% and the most permissive is 26%, with women's bands running from 32% to 36%. Every band here sits inside the corridor rather than pressed against its limits. The most permissive band reaches the loosest end of the corridor, so older personnel are held to the joint ceiling rather than a service-specific one.
Check your measurements
Run your numbers against the Coast Guard standard in the multi-branch go/no-go checker.
Open checker →Printable scorecard
Take a clean one-page summary of this branch's screen to your weigh-in.
Get scorecard →Source & verification
- Primary: Coast Guard Body Composition Standards Program (updated Feb 2025)
- Retrieved and verified: 2026-08-19. Standards change — confirm with the official regulation or your command before any official assessment.